Chapter 11: NEW RULES

Well I will update this chapter in two parts as its quite long. The next part will be updated at night today. Till then enjoy till here.^_^

CHAPTER-11:

New Rules Language: English

One
Talkin' in my sleep at night, makin' myself crazy
(Out of my mind, out of my mind)
Wrote it down and read it out, hopin' it would save me
(Too many times, too many times)My love
He makes me feel like nobody else, nobody else
But, my love
He doesn't love me, so I tell myself, I tell myself
One: Don't pick up the phone

You know he's only callin' 'cause he's drunk and alone
Two: Don't let him in
You have to kick him out again
Three: Don't be his friend
You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the mornin'
And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him
I got new rules; I count 'em
I got new rules; I count 'em
I gotta tell them to myself
I got new rules; I count 'em
I gotta tell them to myselfI keep pushin' forwards, but he keeps pullin' me backwards
(Nowhere to turn) No way
(Nowhere to turn) No
Now I'm standin' back from it, I finally see the pattern
(I never learn, I never learn)But, my love (Love)
He doesn't love me, so I tell myself
I tell myself, I do, I do, I do
One: Don't pick up the phone
You know he's only callin' 'cause he's drunk and alone
Two: Don't let him in
You have to kick him out again
Three: Don't be his friend
You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning
And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him
I got new rules; I count 'em
I got new rules; I count 'em
I gotta tell them to myself
I got new rules; I count 'em
I gotta tell them to myself
Practice makes perfect
I'm still tryna learn it by heart
(I got new rules, I count 'em)
Eat, sleep and breathe it
Rehearse and repeat it, 'cause I
(I got new, I got new, I...)
One: Don't pick up the phone
You know he's only callin'
'Cause he's drunk and alone (Yeah, alone)
Two: Don't let him in
You have to kick him out again (Oh, ooh)
Three: Don't be his friend (Again)
You know you're gonna wake up
In his bed in the mornin' (Bed in the mornin')
And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him
I got new rules; I count 'em
I got new rules; I count 'em
(Whoa-ooh, whoa, whoa)
I gotta tell them to myself
I got new rules; I count 'em
(Baby, you know I count 'em)
I gotta tell them to myself
Don't let him in, don't let him in
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't be his friend, don't be his friend
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't let him in, don't let him in
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't be his friend, don't be his friend
Don't, don't, don't, don't
You gettin' over him

NEW RULES

PART-A

'City College' the 'College of Dreams' has a huge campus. It has an aura of 'Larger Than Life' in it. The campus contains fourteen main buildings for different courses, has seven Administration offices, eight girls hostel and ten boys hostel. It had an auditorium, two swimming pools, two gyms, five outdoor fields, two basketball courts, two canteens and so on. The campus had cafes, shops and even ATMs inside. But bigger the institution is, stricter are the rules. No hostelers were allowed to go outside the campus after 8:00 pm, no outsider could enter after 8:00 pm except teachers and P.H.D students. Students who live off campus could stay in the College Area till 11:00 pm if they enter before 8:00pm, boys and girls of both the hostels could interact till 11:00 pm. Hostelers could only use two wheelers inside the campus to cover the distances between the College Buildings.

As Imlie made her way to the common ground which is in the middle of the campus she saw Rajendra from afar sitting on a bench and chatting. The common ground is filled with benches and has two cafes nearby, Imlie saw many students had arrived early and College was getting filled with new and old faces. Now she was feeling like her College life will start on a great note which she couldn't enjoy in her last life as she dropped out of the College. Few students were busy chatting sitting on the benches and stairs as they arrived a week before the start of the college. Imlie went past them, focusing her way to Rajendra who was sitting with a guy on a bench and was busy talking with him. The moment she saw them, she started to frame her next plan and it became very clear to her how to approach her plan. The guy sitting with him was Rajendra's roommate whose photo he shared in his whatsapp with the quotation, "Mr.Hacker"

And when Imlie enquire today afternoon about the reason behind the quotation, he texted back saying the guy won college's hacking competition last year when he was still a fresher. He was a senior to Rajendra and every new student by one year.

Imlie went near them and said with a smile, "Guys do you want to have a cup of coffee? Obviously my treat"

Rajendra looked at Imlie surprised and said, "Oh! Imlie, from where?"

"Just somewhere, first tell me both of you want some coffee? Then I can get acquainted with our senior dada. Dada coffee? You can ask for tea too."
"Coffee please"
"Raj, please help me with the cups. Will you?"
"Definitely"

Imlie went to the Cafe nearby with Rajendra and brought three cups of coffee, Imlie sat on the bench with them.

Rajendra said, "Dada, this is Imlie Bhuyan from Pagdandia. And Imlie this is Sohum dada, Sohum Deshmukh"

Imlie and Sohum shook their hands with each other. They started getting acquainted and it didn't even take one hour for them to get lost in their conversation about lifestyles and technology. The three of them sounded like they knew each other forever.

"So Imlie, you are also in your first year of B.Tech with Raj?"
"No dada, I am in first year BJMC" Imlie replied.
"What? Wow but you were so proficient with knowledge of our field too. I thought you were from engineering and our branch. But you are doing Bachelors of Journalism and Mass Communication. What a loss for our branch for not getting a talented girl like you"
"Dada, technology is so much prevalent in our lives that we can't avoid it even if we go to a different study line"
"You are absolutely right about this," added Sohum.
"By the way Raj, did you do it?" enquired Imlie.
Sohum gave a questioning look.
Raj, who was happy to have two friends before the start of his semester, was lost in his imagination with the good moments he wanted to make with them in the future. He was brought back to reality with Imlie's question.

"Oh, I got the permission" replied Rajendra.
"What permission?" asked Sohum.
"The library computers"
"How do you know about it?" asked Sohum who was surprised that a fresher knew about this before the College started.
"Imlie told me"

Sohum gave Imlie a questioning look.
"Actually I arrived a week before and discovered everything," replied Imlie.
"Oh" Sohum was convinced.
"By the way Sohum dada and Raj if you both see something wrong. Will you try to give justice or just ignore it?"
"Obviously I will try to provide justice if I can without getting harmed myself," said Sohum.
"Me too", added Rajendra.

Imlie looked at Rajendra and his roommate Sohum. She understood they would stand for justice and asked with a serious tone, "Guys I need a favor from both of you, especially Sohum dada. Could you help?"

Imlie told them everything and explained what favor she needed from them.The request she made was something they didn't expect but being a youth, when your blood boils the most for justice Sohum eagerly accepted Imlie's request. Sohum and Rajendra made their way to the boys hostel and Imlie returned to her hostel.

As she entered the room she saw Niti organizing her cupboard.

"Welcome back", Niti greeted.
"Oh, are you busy?"
"A little, by the way I approved the passes and I kept your one on your study table"
"Thanks babe you are my savior"
"Haha, even I am enjoying the rush. By the way, the warden wants to meet us after dinner. She was extremely shocked when I submitted the xerox of that paper with the Police Force's seal"
"Oh okay, let me freshen up first"
"Sure"

Imlie changed her clothes to pajamas and a cotton top. She and Niti had her dinner in the hall and saw it had started to fill up with girls. Imlie smiled again with the excitement of starting her College life. Later both of them went to the warden's office who admitted to be extremely shocked to know that both of them were working with the Special Police Force. Being a sharp lady she asked whether it was really about relatives or some mission the other day. Both of them accepted they were on a mission but had to lie as they didn't get their pass yet. She said even though their work is essential but she wouldn't allow them to ruin discipline of her hostel hence they should move to a room in the first floor,

Niti gave an expression of annoyance as she had to pack her bags again. This would be the third time for her to change her rooms. Imlie pinched her to warn that her feelings were visible on her face.

The warden told them to maintain their secrecy everytime they move out at odd times. Else their movements might raise questions in the minds of other students. And she gave two individual duplicate keys of the backstairs to Niti and Imlie.
"Now you may go," she said.
" Thank you ma'am" both Imlie and Niti said in unison.

They left her office and made their way to the third floor, through the elevator.
"What the? And this way all the food will vanish" exclaimed Niti, annoyed.
"You were so expressive there"
"Imlu I have been dragging bags continuously like some conveyor belt. Only today I shifted to your room and for my unfortunate fate I had unpacked too. Shouldn't she drop this bomb before when she told me to inform you about the meet after dinner"
"Oh my, my poor Niti" Imlie teased Niti.
"I don't want both of you to ruin the discipline of my hostel", Niti imitated the Warden's words.
Imlie cracked into laughter and made her way to the third floor pushing Niti out of the lift, who was angry.
"Acha baba, I will help you to pack your luggage again. I have very little luggage as I didn't have many clothes or things."

Both the girls made their way to their new room clearing up everything from the third floor.
They were amazed to see the new room was two times larger than the room on the third floor though they got the same things as before, two single beds, two big cupboards, two study tables and two electric socket boards. By the time they finished shifting everything to the first floor, be it Niti's musical instruments or her table fan or even the baskets to organize things it was almost 12:00 am. The girls didn't have any energy left, they laid their bed sheets which they brought from home on the mattresses and slept. It was the next morning they realized the quality of the mattress was so bad in that room that they both had woken up not only early but with body pain.

"Fck this mattress" cursed Niti.
"I absolutely agree with you with the spirit level I have. We need to buy our own mattress if we don't want body pain next time" said Imlie.
"How about today?" asked Niti.
"Hmm, I will be leaving for Pagdandia tonight so definitely it's better to buy"
"You are going to Pagdandia tonight?"
"Yes I have some jobs to be done "
"Something like some mission"
"Well it's a no as well as a yes"
"That's utterly confusing"
"Maybe it is, I promised my childhood friend that I will save her. But for that I will need your help too"
"Well I am always ready to be at your service"
"But before that I need to keep my promise to you"
"What promise?"
"Martial Arts, we are starting now. It's 5:15 am already. Harshit informed me that next week we will have a test for checking our skills in their headquarters."
"What? Are you kidding me? We will start our practice with this much body pain"
"Don't worry I am there for you, now first try to punch me"
"Punch you? I don't want to die early" Niti chuckled.
"Niti..." this time Imlie called her name with a serious tone.
"Okay, okay I will do what you ask me to do"

Niti went to the middle of their room where Imlie was standing, she punched Imlie on her arm with all the strength she had in her body.
"Not good. That's the strength of some twig"
"Imlu, that's unfair I am not a Hulk but please don't compare my strength with some twigs"
"It is what it is but don't worry I will make you a Hulk. Now kick me"
Niti didn't say much as she was offended but did what she was told. This time Imlie's eyes sparkled, she said, "Now that's what I was wishing to see. You have a good amount of strength in your legs."
"That's because I used to run in marathons"
"You will be perfect to learn martial arts that uses legs first"
"Really?"
"Yes"
"So what should I do? Tell me fast" Niti was now excited.
"Nothing but some exercises. Your upper body is kind of stiff and you lack core strength."
"What?"
Before Niti could say anything anymore Imlie showed her exercises like plank and mountain climbers and made Niti do them for more than thirty minutes without any break.

As Niti thought, she could rest and sleep after finishing them as she was exhausted.

Imlie exclaimed "Niti, your second task for training will be hitting the gym? Ready to go to the College gym? I got a pass for you too with mine"

Niti was already tired with the first task, she muttered under her breath, "I took the wrong assignment"

She understood Imlie won't leave her alone that easily. Once she commits she would not even listen to the people whom she committed.

"Come on Niti, you need to be strong to learn mixed martial arts. We will start with kickboxing. I heard there are equipments in the gym"

"Imlie it's just 6:00 am" Niti tried to give an excuse but as Imlie had already walked out of the room she followed her with her crocodile tears.

After the gym Imlie sat with Niti in their room. Imlie made protein shake in a shaker bottle and gave it to Niti.
"Yours?" asked Niti.
"I will drink after you are done"
This gesture was enough for Niti to understand how kind hearted Imlie was because both the shake and the bottle were Imlie's.
'I met a girl with a golden heart' thought Niti. She was so proud of her friend that she forgot Imlie is a person who doesn't think twice before slitting throats. For Niti, Imlie was an angel.
Niti drank the protein shake and returned the bottle after washing in the washroom of the first floor. Imlie made the same drink for herself and told Niti to sit. Niti sat on Imlie's bed leaning on the wall, Imlie showed her some pictures. Those pictures were edited but Niti saw them and wasn't much perplexed. Imlie told Niti to fill some envelopes with the content she would instruct Niti to fill and explained the content to her. After that they had breakfast at 9:00 am in the canteen and made their way to the stationary shop that was inside the campus.

Imlie bought some envelopes from the stationary shop and handed them to Niti. She said goodbye to her and made her way to Tripathi Niwas whereas Niti made her way back to the hostel. She was wearing her hoodie, joggers, spectacles and a mask. She reached the house and climbed through the wall. When she was inside the outer boundary of the house, she went below the balcony which was at the back of the house, she noticed it was open. It was just the way she had instructed Chavi the night before. She climbed the pipes and balancing herself on the shades of the window she managed to reach the first floor's balcony. She made her way inside hiding herself and it was quite easy as Tripathi house was decorated the same way as her last life. She picked up her pace and entered the corridor of the first floor which had railings on one end. She hid behind the pillars and saw a huge drama was taking place at the hall of Tripathi Niwas.

"Aditya, how could you do this with me? Twelve years of relationship and one morning you just came and said you wanted us to break up without any kind of explanation. I thought you were fed up with me but I trusted that you still had some affection left after giving so many years to our relationship. But no within one month you married some kid from some village and brought back home" uttered Malini as tears filled her eyes and lumps were formed in her throat for her overwhelming emotion.
A smile escaped from Imlie's lips hearing the word 'kid' from Malini's mouth. She wasn't that considerate in her last life till Aditya hanged her in a position where she was married with a kid but neither her husband was with her nor the father of her kid. She did her best though to score her redemption points but was betrayed once again as Aditya fell in love again but not with her. Was it karma or Aditya was never her soulmate?

"Aditya, you know I love you. Please don't leave me, you are my world. I beg you" Malini begged holding Aditya's feet.
"Please Malini, I already know your real face. There's no one more evil than you or your mother in this world," uttered Aditya disgusted.

'Woah man! She still hasn't become a bad person yet. Rather Chavi said she was sorry before leaving and gave her a packet of biscuits yesterday when she felt your family was misbehaving with Chavi on behalf of her. You are just being biased with her memories.' thought Imlie looking at the scenario.

Imlie was recording the video of the scenario taking place in front of her.

"Aditya, what are you talking about? What did my mother do? She was just against the marriage because we belong to different classes but never did anything to harm our relationship. And what did I do? Tell me Aditya"
"You tried to kill Im..." Aditya stopped half way.
"Me and killing? Aditya what kind of nonsense are you talking about? You know from College time I have been working with different NGOs for people. Will a person like me kill someone? How could you say that?" asked Malini, baffled.

'Oh dude, he is definitely holding her guilty of something she never did in this timeline' thought Imlie.

"Malini, stop with your acting and leave from here. You are just obsessed with me" replied Aditya.
"Aditya, please don't be so cruel...Please..." Malini hugged Aditya trying to appease him as she was crying but Aditya just stood there with a stone face.
"Please don't let our love fail. You were the one who fell in love with me at the first sight and today you want to be the first one to fall out of love too? Don't you remember how you courted me to become your girlfriend and today when you have me as your fiance you want to leave me?" Malini wept.

'We girls are so naive. So this guy fell in love with her at the first sight, courted her till she said yes, was in a relationship for twelve years and now wants to leave her because he thinks she killed someone. And the girl fought her parents since they belong to different classes, dedicated herself as a girlfriend, ready to sacrifice her lifestyle and now weeping for love from him. What a bogus story? It's all about this man's wish at the end of the day and the lady is still entertaining him? Is it so easy to kill people in this era and talk about it freely without ending up in jail?' wondered Chavi but as she looked up moving her head sideways, pondering on her thoughts she saw someone recording the scenario from the first floor. The person looked her in the eye and greeted her by removing the mask a little.

Chavi squeaked in happiness and everyone looked at her. Chavi got her expression immediately under control and exclaimed, "Please carry on"
Aparna's anger crossed the zenith point and she roared, "Are you mocking Malini's sufferings?"
"Why would I even? But I am surprised none of you are telling her to understand that she is just hurting herself because it's evident that this man doesn't understand her sadness at all. Aren't you just selfish for letting her hurt rather than telling her that our son is a useless piece of sh*t and a girl should not waste her emotions on him"

Imlie was surprised to see Chavi not backing out to Aparna's words and what she said was absolutely the truth. They never said anything to Malini about moving on from Aditya, they didn't let that lady heal from a twelve years relationship by making boundaries. Imlie herself felt guilty to think what she did in her last life, she was a young girl and took the worst decision of keeping Malini at their own place. Why did she do that? It was so wrong on so many levels, she wanted to keep her for the kid but wanted to keep Aditya as her husband. What would be Malini's mental health looking at them romancing when she was with him for twelve years? Just for the kid she wanted to keep her but as a human she never thought what would happen to Malini's mental health. Imlie felt guilty for turning a human to the worst of human beings just thinking about a baby which was also not a product of love rather it was an act of spe*m theft which was also absolutely unfair to Aditya.

"Mind your language, you are referring to my son" said Aparna.
"Yes ma'am I am reffering your son and my so-called husband. But Miss Malini, people say for intelligent people a gesture is enough. Didn't you understand your value with the allegations he made? You need to a take a chill pill and listen to songs like 'New Rules' and see eye to eye with yourself. Only then you could overcome your grief" said Chavi.

Malini took a step back from Aditya, her dream was broken into pieces. Chavi's words had hit the nail harder than she expected. The wishes she made for her married life were running out of her hand like sand and she couldn't keep it safe. A man took the most of her and left with nothing, neither her time nor her whole being. She fell down on the floor and cried, cried like she was crying for a dead body. It was the dead body of her love, emotion, time, investments, wishes, dreams, expectations and so much more; she was mourning for herself.
Aparna and Rukmini tried to support her to make her stand.
Chavi exclaimed, "Miss Malini, take this as an advice from me, a stranger and a well wisher as I understood you are a good person yesterday. Never let your goodness die for anyone be it your blood related people or even a man you love. If the person doesn't value you, don't waste your valuable time on them. At any cost avoid toxic people."
"You are saying this for your own gain" retorted Rukmini.
"Haha, I don't have any kind of gains here. I am just being kind to her because she doesn't belong among you a bunch of narcissists and she was kind to me yesterday. I don't burden myself hence I try to return everything I get from others." replied Chavi.
Aditya got angry with Chavi and left for his office immediately without saying anything to her.

"Stop... Just stop. What kind of horrible atmosphere this house is having" yelled Mr. Tripathi who was fed up with the drama.
"Return to your room Chavi" said Mukesh Tripathi, Rukmini's husband and the head of the house.
"Which one is her room? There's no room for her here. She has just stolen my son's room" Aparna shouted with tears trying to handle the mourning Malini who was losing her consciousness every second as she was crying.
"Stop it Aparna we need some peace now, Bhai Sahab is doing the right thing" said Mr. Tripathi who was Aparna's husband.
Chavi looked above to see Imlie but she was nowhere visible. Chavi made her way to the room.

Imlie was walking on the road lost in thoughts, Imlie was guilt tripped for what she did with Malini. Also she felt extremely annoyed at the thought that the Tripathi family supported her decisions only to have their bloodline, she never thought about them as selfish but they were. And when Malini gave birth in her last life and they heard about it, though Aditya was in Australia that year they didn't stop to ask Malini to send their grandchild to them though for Aditya's sake they were never ready to accept Malini.

'What kind of a fool I was?' thought Imlie as she took it fair for the grandchild to be with them as Malini was a villain in her eyes. These constant demands made Malini run away with her baby as Anu Chaturvedi also wanted to dispose the baby and made her marry the guy she chose for her.

Thanks to Chavi she understood that she had whitewashed the Tripathi family too much in her mind because they were good to her in the later part, but they were only good to Malini for twelve years. After that they supported Malini only to the extent they needed. They were humans at the end of the day.

"Imlie" Niti called Imlie to break her from the daze. Imlie had reached the street where she decided to meet Niti and proceed to the next part of the plan.

"Oh Niti, you did what I asked you to?"
"Yes everything is ready"
"Well I guess we need to buy some extra pendrives"
"There's an electronics shop nearby"
"Okay let's first buy that"

Niti and Imlie went to the store and bought them. Then they went to the photo developing shop which was nearby to develop the pictures Imlie took in Tripathi House.
As Imlie was busy choosing the pictures she wanted to print out with Niti she saw a car similar to Aryan's car getting parked on the opposite side of the road.

Imlie noticed Aryan getting out of his car and she immediately pulled her hoodie up. She didn't waste any seconds and ran to the nearby drugstore to buy a N95 mask for Niti keeping an eye on Aryan who was crossing the road. She came back and gave it to Niti.

Niti was confused at first but wore it immediately when she saw Aryan proceeding. They tried their best to not make any eye contact with him.

Aryan asked for the family picture he ordered them to print and frame. As the man went inside to bring the picture Aryan noticed the two girls near him. They were familiar and he inquired, "Khatti is that you?"

Imlie and Niti looked at him.
"Also you were in the front seat. I am sorry I didn't even ask your name" said Aryan.
"Oh, Mr. Rathore, please don't be sorry. You were tired that day, myself Natasha Joshi and that's Khatti, she doesn't have a surname"

Imlie looked at Niti for lying so blatantly but only Niti knew that she wasn't lying a bit. Once she was called with this name only, a name which was given to her when she came to this earth. But Niti Sharma, is the reality for her today so she would face her past and it would start by faking her name with the name she didn't want to associate forever even till last year.

"Oh, nice to meet you. Why does Khatti doesn't have a surname"
"Nice to meet you too. Oh she is an orphan"
Imlie was speechless with the excuses Niti gave to Aryan about their identity.
"Both of you are here for work?" said Aryan looking at Khatti who was looking somewhere else.
"Yes, something related to work only"
"Can I take her for a few minutes with me?" asked Aryan.
Imlie looked at Niti to warn her to say no. But as Niti was extremely amused she said a 'Yes' to Aryan's wishes and added he could take her anywhere.
Imlie gave Niti a killer look as Aryan held her right hand and picked up the picture with the other. He took her to a nearby cloth shop. Imlie looked at him confusingly.

"You gave your cap to me by mistake that day," said Aryan.
Imlie made some gestures which expressed as if now she came to know where her cap went.
Aryan bought a baseball cap for her and handed it to her.
"I don't know if we will ever meet again or not but I don't like to take things from people. So I hope this cap will perfectly do its role in the place of that one." said Aryan.
Imlie said thanks to him in sign language.
"You might be brutal but you seem to be a shy person," said Aryan.

'Shy and me? Also what's this brutal-shy combo?' thought Imlie confused as she didn't understand to take it as a compliment or an insult.

Suddenly Aryan saw his mother and sister coming out of the car as they were tired waiting for him in this scorching heat. He hurriedly said goodbye to Imlie whom he was thinking as Khatti and made his way to the car. As Imlie looked towards the car she saw Narmada and Arpita standing outside the car waiting for Aryan who was crossing the road. For the first time bitter memories came to her mind which were missing till now. Looking at Narmada and Arpita made her remember her marriage was not at all a bed of roses.

"Imlie, you broke the Tripathis, Neela Bhabhi was right about you. What did you not take from my son? Your whole identity as a successful journalist was given to you by my son. If Arpita hadn't said to give you the internship for helping her in the temple, you wouldn't have been able to come to our house in a fake rent arrangement. Who gives an internship without an interview or even jobs without exams nowadays? Now everything seems like a plan of yours to climb the easy stairs of life. Your first marriage was ruined by stepping on which you made your way to the city from an Adivasi village and then you stepped on my son to have this successful identity. Is my son more than your stepping stones? You were a fraud from the very first. I was a fool that I never saw these facts because I was so drowned in the mission to anyhow get my son married. And got trapped in your net, the timing of everything was too perfect to not get suspicious."

As Narmada's words surfaced up as the first batch of bad memories, Imlie gulped the saliva which accumulated in her mouth. It was all sour and bitter feelings she could feel as she saw the happy family drive away on the road to their destination. 

PART-B

After a few minutes Imlie went back to the shop. Niti was standing there waiting for the pictures to get printed.
“You are back. Where did he take you? A date?”
“A date that wraps up in a few minutes. Whatever it might be but it's definitely not a date.”
“Then?”
“As he won’t meet me in the future and he has my cap at his place. So he bought a new one for me”
“Oh, getting rid of the burden of having something from someone”
“Yes”

A man came from inside after printing the pictures. His face revealed as if he wanted to ask something.

“Any questions?” asked Niti.
“Isn’t this the man and the girl whose wedding pictures are getting viral in whatsapp?”
Niti looked confused but Imlie spoke this time.
“Yes, they are.”
“Then this woman who is she, the one hugging him?”
“You will know in an hour just keep patience. How much is the cost of printing?”
Imlie and Niti came out of the shop after getting the prints. Now Niti couldn’t keep her curiosity back to herself and asked, “The whole viral thing going in whatsapp and facebook. Is it your doing? I know the girl is your childhood friend but the thing is getting viral. I am asking about that”
“Yep, I asked my friends to do it”
“Your friends?”
“From our college only. I will introduce you to them later. Give me the pink envelope and let’s deliver the other envelopes to the destinations. You drop these two, I will drop this one”

Imlie took two envelopes and Niti left with the other two. Imlie first went to an internet cafe and shifted the desirable contents to the new pen drives. Then she made her way to the head office of ‘Delhi News’.

Imlie went to the reception of the office and said, “I have an appointment with Mrs. Ahuja”

“Miss I?” asked the receptionist.
“Yes”
“Please come this way”
Imlie landed in a huge cabin. The woman working on the desk was in her late forties, she was in her formal attire and had a hair length till her shoulder..
“Hello, Mrs. Ahuja”
“Oh, Welcome Miss I to my office. I was eager to see your face but I feel like I won’t be that lucky”
“Unfortunately yes, you won’t see my face that easily” replied Imlie.
“The pictures you gave us really helped us to make a lot of profits.”
“You flatter me Mrs. Ahuja. I also made the necessary profits from you”
“So why did you want to meet me?”
“I thought of visiting you first only to appreciate the efforts you gave to get Bhaskar Times in huge losses. But now I have something to offer you too”
“What?”
“The key to the downfall of the man who rejected your job twelve years back only because the company chose a woman in the position of CEO” said Imlie.
“You, how do you know?”
“I might not know your side of the story but I indeed know Aditya Kumar Tripathi rejected this job even after getting it, that too on the first day of joining because you took the position of your dead husband who died with a heart attack. And also that time ‘Delhi News’ was actually a newspaper company. ‘Bhaskar Times’ which was in second position immediately took the first position with the joining a talented guy who rejected a company because a woman took the lead”
“Miss I, you are interesting. So what’s the key?”
“Some videos in this pen drive but Mrs. Ahuja nothing comes free.”
“I won’t doubt you as the things you provided before were actually worth the cost. Say the amount”
“Since it would just give you pleasure and loss to a company. Let’s fix 80K.”
“Won’t it be less?”
“Miss I don't scam Mrs. Ahuja. This news would help you garner attention and pleasure for a few days but its value will decrease as the days will pass. So this amount is best. Also I hope we can work together in future too.”
“Okay, deal” said Mrs. Ahuja with a smile.
“Deal” 

Imlie and Mrs. Ahuja had a handshake and Mrs. Ahuja checked the contents of the pen drive and was happy. A message from the bank was delivered to Imlie that an amount of 80k got transferred in her account.

As Imlie left Mrs. Ahuja’s secretary came to her.
“Ma'am, is that girl trustable? She is hiding her face even.”
“She is Ronit. Her eyes speak a thousand words, she is someone who will hold a large amount of power in her hands in the future, that's what I feel from her. We are extremely lucky that she contacted us herself” said Mrs. Ahuja.

After this Imlie went to the Fight Club ‘Martini’ where she visited last time. Mahesh was extremely happy to see Imlie there.

“So you managed to enter the club as a permanent member?” asked Mahesh
“Let’s work together for the betterment of the society” said Imlie.
Mahesh smiled at her words.
“Oh my Miss Deadly Combo is here” said Rana happily when he saw Imlie with Mahesh.
Imlie smiled and greeted Rana, “Jai Sita Maiyya Rana bhaiyya. Everything going well for you?”
“Yep, I heard you joined the forces”
“Not joining rather being a volunteer. I will be a member of this club though like you”
“That will be a such a pleasure to have you in our team”
Raka entered the room and was shocked by Rana laughing and patting the head of a young girl in joggers and hoodies.
“A girl at our place?” asked Raka.
“Raka bro, meet her. She is Imlie and she will also play from our house”
“A girl?”
“Yes”
“Are you kidding me Rana?”
“Don’t go on her looks, she is a dynamite” said Mahesh defending Imlie.
“I don’t believe it”
“What should I do to make you believe that I am eligible to be here?” asked Imlie.
“Do the thing that is most apt for this place. Fight” challenged Raka.
“Okay, tell me the conditions.”
“Our house has two fights scheduled for today, Rana has a knife fight and I have boxing. Both are back to back. I want you to fight in place of us” said Raka.
“Raka, isn't that too harsh? Or you just want to harass her because…” before Rana could complete the sentence Raka said, “Because she was the one who roared to make me bleed when I wasn’t here. I am sparing her from a match with me and just telling her to fight the people whom the rich people gathered to pawn them to fight. Unlike those at least she has the freedom to choose hence she is here”
“Raka, that's too much,” Mahesh warned.
“It’s okay” said Imlie and continued, “What will I get if I win both the matches?”

“I will fulfill your one wish,” said Raka.
“Then think the challenge is done already”

The match started at 1:30 pm and the knife match was over within fifteen minutes. Imlie was faster than lightning. Rana expected it and told Raka to look at her skills. But Mahesh and Rana were fearing for the boxing part which mostly depends on physical strength.

“Should it be just boxing?” asked Imlie.
“Why? You got scared?” asked Raka.
“That’s not how you play. Let’s make it a freestyle fight where any kind of techniques can be used.” said Imlie.
“Okay”
As Raka said okay to her wishes Mahesh announced the fight would be freestyle rather than just boxing.
Imlie smiled as she threw the boxing gloves on the floor. As the opponent came to attack her she bent down and hit the left leg with her right. The guy fell down and she held his hands behind his back and sat on him making it impossible for him to move at all. Mahesh counted the count and at a count of three Imlie was declared as the winner. Within half an hour two rich people who challenged the house lost more than four lakhs making Imlie earn three lakhs with both the fights.

 “Your wish?” asked Raka.
“Next week let’s have a fighting round, you and me” said Imlie.
“You still have an aim to make me bleed?”
“I do”
“Okay next week kid, you and I will have the best day of our lives. I want to see if truly can someone make me bleed” said Raka and left Imlie alone.

Imlie smiled and sat on the plastic chair. She finished the fight earlier than she expected because she was quite distracted from the moment she saw Narmada and Arpita. Rathore's was a safe zone for her in her last life at least according to her. For the first time after her time travel she was feeling something different. Narmada and Arpita made her question her own choices. She loves Aryan because Aryan loved her but does she love Narmada and Arpita the way she loved them when she met them for the first time before the time travel? This question ate her up when she saw a message from Niti to take a look on the youtube channel of ‘Delhi News’

Imlie switched on to youtube and saw the news coverage of Delhi News.

“Aditya Kumar Tripathi loves to be in controversial topics I guess. Yesterday we were wondering how Bhaskar Times made their way to the terrorist attack at Pagdandia before anyone and today we have the answer for these. From the morning everyone might have come across these pictures of Aditya Kumar Tripathi marrying a girl who isn’t eighteen yet. It’s a viral post right now, people have even started to tweet about it. We managed to get the xerox of the birth certificate of the girl, her name is Chavi Kumari and she is still not eighteen because tomorrow is her birthday and this marriage has already taken place. We could see happy villagers here though many of them had blurred faces and we could not trace their real faces. But the story circulating in whatsapp is actually a true story. Chavi Kumari is from Pagdandia. We have footage to share which we managed to get from Aditya’s own house. ”

And they played the footage where Malini was crying and begging Aditya.
“This woman was actually his fiance and they had been together for twelve years and this man didn’t take a second to put false allegations at her. This is where humanity has been tainted. A girl was forced to marry by her family and got married to a man fifteen years older than her and he didn’t even think twice dismissing his ex-lover. Does a person like this deserve to keep National Awards for clean journalism?”

As Aditya looked at the news horrified he was called to the cabin by the Chief Editor of Bhaskar Times.
“Aditya, what is this? Why didn’t you say you got married and that too to a girl half your age?” yelled the Editor.
“Sir the circumstances were” Aditya tried to reply but he was cut in the middle.
“Look Aditya I respect your skills and even if the world goes against you we know you are a gem. But I have no choice, we are in a state of emergency, the shares of our company have fallen to a large extent. I have to suspend you”
“Sir?” Aditya looked at the CE with shock.
“Don’t worry you can return once the storm calms down. But for now you are suspended. Go back to your home”

Aditya came out of the cabin sad and broken. The job for which he gave everything was in danger because of the past events of his life. But who made the video at his own house? This question made him go crazy. 

He saw his subordinates changing channels but all were saying similar things about him.
“Poor Aditya Sir, people are trending in twitter with tweets telling him to return the National Award”
“Did he really marry a girl fifteen years younger to him? I never thought him to be like that”
“Is the marriage even valid? That girl will be eighteen tomorrow”
As he heard about the supporting as well as the doubtful phrases from the juniors the seniors had their own gossip. He heard the head of the Bollywood and Celebs department say, “Didn’t he refuse his job at ‘Delhi News’ twelve years back to join here? Maybe they are taking out on him for that very grudge”

A senior came and tried to boost Aditya’s morals which were now shattered in pieces. He said ‘thank you’ and left the office.

Imlie on the other side had a hearty tea party with Rana and Mahesh. After that she went to a restaurant for lunch and ordered a thali. Imlie was a non-veg person but as she was in a hurry she chose the veg option. Also the lunch hour of the hostel has passed already and this made Imlie to take the decision to have her lunch outside. While eating her lunch she bought more shares of Bhaskar Times, her main aim is to become a shareholder of this company and eventually the owner in the future before Aryan buys it. For that she would do anything to get that company to drown in losses. The whole thing she bent on by providing pictures of Chavi’s marriage where not a single gun was visible. And these pictures were something she got from the terrorist’s laptop, she expected to get it because they were keeping an eye on Aditya’s movements. She even cut the tongue of that guy so that he could never say that she stole the pictures from his laptop. She does have the pictures with the guns too but will only use it if she feels like they have a use for it. She got the story viral for people’s sympathy towards a weak girl and that’s the image she portrayed of Chavi. When the reality was quite opposite, the whole marriage took place according to Imlie and Chavi’s plans.

After lunch Imlie went back to her hostel and changed to a kurti and patiala pants. She made her way to the park to meet Aryan. As Imlie was sitting on the park's bench she saw Aryan coming towards her. He kept his promise.

"Jai Sita Maiyya handsome lad. How was your day?" Imlie asked.
“It was okayish”
“Oh”
"By the way, I met her again"
"Whom?"
"Khatti, the girl who saved me"
“Who is Khatti?”
“The girl who fights like some action movie hero”
“Oh, the girl who gave you her bulletproof jacket, covered you with an umbrella also gave her cap to you. I remembered” said Imlie.
“Yes, that girl from the police force I met her again. I gave her a new cap. This ends our reasons to meet any further. I can’t return her cap, rather I gave a new one. I did it right now, there's no more reason to interact anymore. Even if we meet again we can be strangers on the streets”
“ASR what’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? There’s nothing wrong”
“There might be something wrong. You don’t talk so much generally”
“How do you know?”
“I just know. So tell me what’s wrong? I don’t think it is hard to confide in strangers?”
“I almost ran away from her when I saw my mother and sister”
"Why did you run?"
"Else they would end up meeting her. And my mother is like something. She would start seeing my wife in her or may think she is my lover"
"Just introduce her normally like you would introduce any male acquaintance"
"I would but she is a female and my mother will think in different zone"
"Oh, but is that the real reason?"
“I judged her”
“Judged?”
“Yes, she has something attractive about her. But we are from different worlds. Who would want to imagine a girl like her to be someone that can be introduced to the ladies of the family? I hate myself for judging her not as a girl that is good to be introduced to my Maa or Didi. I…feel…guilty for thinking this way”
“Understandable, if you know you are wrong then just try to not repeat the mistakes next time. The problem doesn’t lie with that girl but you are feeling like this because you are challenging your own thoughts.”
“Can I defeat my own prejudices?”
“Every person has their own set of strengths, you can show roads to the lost travelers but have it hard to fight your own prejudices. Don’t worry you can overcome them. You are a good person.”
“Didn’t expect something like this to come from your mouth” uttered Aryan looking at Imlie.
“Do I look like a person who can’t say something inspirational?”
“No you look like some onion with layers”
“I will take it as a compliment”
“You know my mother is the sweetest person in this world, so my sister. Whenever I see them I want to protect them from everything”
“Oh”

Aryan looked at the sky which started to fill up with stars. He told some stories of his mother and sister when he was young. The Aryan of today was talkative, he wouldn’t have been so if he was not in a happy mood; thanks to Aditya’s suffering, the one whom he feels like the reason for his brother in law’s death.

But as he was saying his childhood stories Imlie was lost, lost in her memories.

Narmada pushed her bag outside and pleaded to her to leave the house by folding her hands.
“Imlie, please leave. I can’t digest you anymore, my son is no more mine for you. He doubts me, my every word and you are always right for him. That’s why people say to bring a good daughter in law who doesn’t snatch their son. But you, you took my son away from me even though all of us stay under the same roof. I don’t know what black magic you did. Please leave, go anywhere you want but leave”
“You aren’t like this before” Imlie said crying
“I was naive to be played by you. My son is out for a business trip but you do anything and everything in the name of work. You didn’t even return home yesterday night”
“I was in a meeting a with a team”
“Team filled with men. Weren’t you ought to be characterless and it’s absolutely visible”
“Stop it… just stop it. How many times do you want to doubt me? Okay, it’s useless to say you won’t believe anything. And I won’t try make you believe anything”
Imlie came to her car and called her subordinate Madhav, “Madhav tell everyone I am going with you guys to the warzone”
“But Imlie yesterday we discussed clearly in the meeting”
“No need to mention anything about the meeting. I will get my visa approved we will be leaving day after tomorrow”

That night Imlie cried like no tomorrow in the hotel room but didn’t tell anything to Aryan. Why? She didn’t want to make things worse between him, his mother or even her. She needs to return to Rathore Mansion only at the end of the day when Aryan would return. He was a guy who would never leave his family behind but was it possible for her to return there and not suffocate with the current Narmada she was seeing from the last six years of marriage? She just swings once good but the next moment she talks with the other Rathore's she changes her behavior like a chameleon. That lady was the sweetest but she wasted six years hating her. And in that war cover Imlie did her first murder to save her teammate junior from getting raped.

Also Arpita, how could she forget her? She tried her best trying to balance things but she was the first one to blame Imlie when her relationship with Sundar deteriorated because of their disparity of lifestyle and life expectations. What was Imlie’s fault? She volunteered Arpita’s and Sundar’s marriage also she was the one who told Sundar to leave Arpita when she saw her friend getting depression as he had cut all his contacts to his roots as none of his family or relatives or friends or even acquaintances matched the temperament of Arpita and her upbringing.

Something felt missing for Imlie and she couldn't enjoy the meet with Aryan much. Aryan left with a goodbye and a good talk with her. He was ready to fight his own prejudices regarding his thoughts of Khatti. But Imlie was lost in her thoughts that she couldn’t listen much and even Aryan forgot to return her earring as he was so lost in his talks. He needs to celebrate today at home, the ruin of Aditya. He felt good knowing his judgements weren’t wrong about that guy as he ruined other lives too.

She sat on the bench for a few more minutes and looked at the sky.
She found out what was missing at last, wondering over her thoughts.
It was indeed a thought to ponder but also a dilemma which needed immediate decision.
And people mess up mostly when they need to make decisions.

Today the brutal Imlie of this life wasn't new. She was like this in her last life too when she was thirty. Today’s Imlie took birth at the war zone fighting for life to record authentic news for the people sitting at home and saving lives too. She helped many students to flee the foreign land back to their country. The three years of her in the battlefield only to return back to India when she was drenched in her own blood bath. Only then she got the full love, affection and care from the Rathore's. And once the bitter memories started to surface up she understood she was making the same mistake as her last life.

She was trying to live for Aryan and his family, giving her whole existence to them for which she was left with nothing…
This time she would live for herself. She won’t let anyone burden her with mortal luxuries. She will carve her own path out in this crooked world where she would never bow her head to anyone except the Gods above. She would never beg forgiveness and she would never change herself for others.

Imlie went to Tripathi Niwas and helped Chavi to escape. They took the last bus to Pagdandiya from Delhi which leaves at 7:00pm. As Aditya reached home totally drenched in his own sadness he couldn’t find Chavi anywhere in the house. At that time she checked the letterbox of his house and found a pink envelope there consisting of a pen drive and a printed warning.

He looked at the content of the pen drive which made his blood go cold. It was a video of Meethi and Dulari where Meethi said Aditya instigated Aryan’s kidnapping. And the warning letter said,

‘TRY TO FIND CHAVI AND THIS WOULD GO VIRAL.’

How was the whole chapter do comment down?

Your Mimi(❁'◡'❁)